


Silver Eyes Met Green

by lastroseofrwby



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Penny Polendina Needs a Hug, Post-Volume 7 (RWBY), Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Spoilers: Volume 7 (RWBY), i hope i formatted all of this right, if i didn't and you saw this no you didn't, penny is a real girl, ruby and penny are whipped for each other but it's not the main focus, ruby's recklessness and self-sacrificing tendencies are getting a little concerning, summer's really only mentioned, yes both of those
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:40:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25846738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastroseofrwby/pseuds/lastroseofrwby
Summary: “Hey, Penny? Can I ask you something?” She picked up the undercurrents of hesitation in Ruby’s voice.“Of course! What is it?” Penny replied, her head tilting to the side in her usual curious manner.“What did dying feel like?”
Relationships: Penny Polendina & Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 19
Kudos: 110





	Silver Eyes Met Green

Penny remembered the last time she and Ruby had watched the night sky together. It had been at Beacon, before everything went wrong. She had been showing Ruby her new friends: the fireflies. It had been a wondrous night, full of joy and laughter.

_“You know, you’re a lot like those fireflies.”_

_“I am? How so?”_

_“You light up my life.”_

There weren’t any fireflies in Atlas. Nor in Mantle. Penny doubted that any fireflies could survive the cold of Solitas, but the night sky above her and Ruby sufficed. As they kept watch just outside their airship - the others slept inside, they had a big plan to execute tomorrow after all - the two of them substituted the fireflies for the stars. Penny supposed that it was an equal exchange. The stars were an ample light source, and though they didn’t have the gentle glow that the fireflies did, their sparkle was just as breathtaking.

“Hey, Penny? Can I ask you something?” She picked up the undercurrents of hesitation in Ruby’s voice.

“Of course! What is it?” Penny replied, her head tilting to the side in her usual curious manner.

Ruby dipped her head, seemingly finding the right way to speak her mind. Penny waited patiently.

The silence between them continued for several moments before Ruby eventually shut her eyes tight and sighed. She looked over at Penny, her next words rushing out nervous and unsure.

“What did dying feel like?”

Penny blinked, her cheery demeanor dimming. “Oh. I-”

Ruby immediately panicked. “Never mind!” She shook her head, frantically waving off her question. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Really!”

“Ruby,” Penny cut in, a gentle smile on her face, “It’s alright.”

The other girl paused. “Are you sure?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” Penny folded her hands in her lap, tilting her head up to gaze at the horizon. “I suppose I don’t access those memories in my database very often, but they’re still there. My father asked me if I wanted to remove them - I believe that he wished to spare me any residual pain. I declined. I wanted to remember, even though it was not a pleasant experience.” 

“You really don’t mind talking about it?” Penny turned to face her friend. Ruby was staring at her with what appeared to be admiration, her eyes wide and jaw agape as if she were in awe of the person in front of her. Penny felt a little odd upon the realization that in this scenario, Ruby was in awe of _her_. It made Penny’s sensors heat up almost, but in a nice way. She decided that she liked the feeling.

“It’s not that I don’t mind, exactly. They aren’t nice to remember, but I believe I feel comfortable with talking about it with you, Ruby. My father told me that it is good to talk about our feelings. It helps us work through them, and understand them,” Penny affirmed. She looked down at her hands in front of her. She frowned. “Although I am synthetic, and can recover more quickly than the average person, I still possess pain receptors.” She curled her fingers into her palms. “It was painful. I saw my strings come towards me. Then I felt them pull on me.” She spoke slowly, doing her best to recall the memories without reliving the pain. “I don’t technically need to breathe, but it felt as though I was choking. Everything hurt. But then, the pain stopped. I didn’t completely shut down the moment I was… damaged. It took several seconds, and my senses shut off one by one.”

_She could still remember the shouts, the cries of disbelief and terror. Before long: silence, as those sensors lost power._

_It was all so confusing and scary. Why couldn’t she feel anything? Why couldn’t she hear anything?_

_She was dazed, seeing the fear on the faces of the spectators, but unable to gather any more information other than that. Just, fear. And in some, anger._

_Then, nothing._

“The next memory I have after that is waking up in my father’s shop.”

Ruby looked horrified. Her silver eyes, normally bright and shining and wonderful, were filled with pain and regret. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, barely managing to keep her voice from breaking. “Penny, I - that’s awful. If I was faster, I- I wish I could’ve-“ she cut herself off, a bitter grimace overtaking her features. 

“Ruby, please do not blame yourself,” Penny tried to reassure her. She didn’t like to see Ruby upset. It didn’t fit. “It wasn’t your fault. And I’ve… returned now. Additionally, for better or for worse, I’m stronger.”

She was the Winter Maiden now, possessing supposedly limitless power. Perhaps this was the universe’s way of proving that she was just as real as any other normal girl? But - normal girls couldn’t control the elements. Normal girls didn’t have eyes that lit up with flames, both exceedingly beautiful and dangerous. Normal girls didn’t come back from the dead, just as good - better even - as before. Normal girls didn’t-

She felt Ruby place a hand over one of Penny’s own. She hadn’t realized how tightly clenched they were. Ruby laced their fingers together, giving them a gentle squeeze. Penny smiled over at her gratefully. Ruby truly was remarkable. Having her back made Penny unbelievably happy. Her father had noted that she’d started smiling even more once she and Ruby had reunited, which _“really does say a lot about you two, now doesn’t it?”_

“The world’s better with you in it, Penny.”

The ginger-haired girl turned to her friend and beamed. “Thank you, Ruby. I could say the same for you!”

Ruby giggled, her cheeks turning slightly red. Penny hoped that didn’t mean that she was cold. Just in case, she shifted closer to Ruby, and double-checked that her inner heating systems were fully operational. One could never be too sure with the weather in Solitas! In the midst of her running her Homeostasis Protocol, she failed to notice how wistful Ruby’s smile had become.

The two of them shifted their gazes to the land in front of them. At this time, with the stars above them dotting the sky, the tundra truly was beautiful - much more scenic than white hills and penguins. Although - Penny stole a glance at the girl beside her - as stunning as the landscape was, it didn’t compare to Ruby. With the way that the dazzling lights shone on her face, making her eyes glow, Penny could sincerely believe what Ruby and her friends had told her: that Ruby’s eyes alone had the power to vanquish darkness.

“Ruby, if I may, could I ask you something as well?”

“Sure! Lay it on me,” Ruby replied, laying back on her hands with a grin.

“Why did you ask?”

Ruby quirked an eyebrow. “Ask what?”

“Why were you wondering what, um, dying felt like?”

Ruby stilled, her face going blank. She pursed her lips. She folded her arms for a second, then lay them down again. Just as before, she struggled to find what it was that she wanted to say. “I just - I guess I just want to be ready.”

“Ready?” Penny cocked her head in confusion. “For what?”

Ruby broke their eye contact. She fiddled with the edge of her cape with her left hand.

“Ruby?” Penny pressed. “Is something wrong?”

As Ruby’s silence stretched increasingly longer, Penny’s concern grew. Ruby contemplated, her right hand lazily drawing circles in the snow. Finally, “I… I don’t think I’m going to make it.”

Penny stopped. “What… do you mean by that?” Did Ruby mean that she would perish? But how would she know that? Penny couldn’t bear to think of a world without her first friend. It wouldn’t be right.

Silver eyes met green, and suddenly Penny was struck by just how _tired_ and _scared_ the other girl looked.

“What have I told you about my mom?”

“Summer Rose: leader of Team STRQ, also composed of your Uncle Qrow, your father, Taiyang Xiao Long, and your sister’s mother, Raven Branwen,” Penny recited easily, yet still confused. What did this have to do with Ruby dying? “You told me that your mother disappeared on a mission, and that nobody has seen her since.”

“Yeah,” Ruby confirmed. “My mom died when I was really young. I didn’t have a chance to really get to know her, but I’ve been told all my life that I’m a lot like her. I’ve heard that she was strong, and brave, and always wanted to help people.”

“That description does apply to you as well,” Penny said. But these traits seemed positive; why did Ruby say them with such a somber tone?

“Thanks, Penny. I try to be like her,” Ruby replied, the ghost of a smile on her lips. “From everything my dad, Qrow, and Yang have said, she was amazing. But, lately I’ve been thinking - what if I’m too much like her?” Ruby rested her chin on her knees, her hair obscuring her face so Penny couldn’t see her expressions, but her left hand gripped her cape like a vice. “When we saw Salem in Ironwood’s office, I told her that we’d still stop her, even if she can’t be killed.” If Penny hadn’t been looking so closely, she might have missed the slight depressions appearing in the snow by Ruby’s boots, practically invisible in the vast expanse of white. Her voice had a bite, despite how it wavered, “And then Salem said that my mother had told her that too. And that _she was wrong too._ ” 

Penny ached to reach out, place a hand on her shoulder, just offer any sort of reassurance - but what if that made Ruby uncomfortable? She didn’t want to risk making her more upset.

“I don’t know how my mother died, and I don’t know if I ever will, but I know that at some point she fought Salem and now she’s gone.”

Ruby looked up at the stars above them, and Penny could now see the tears making their way down her face. But as Ruby roughly wiped at her cheeks, Penny realized that there was a new emotion in her eyes. The fear and exhaustion remained, but underneath them burned _resolve_ \- another indication of the power of Ruby’s spirit.

“I was scared before - of what it might mean that we’re so similar. But now,” the corner of her mouth rose. “I want to finish what she started. If my mom couldn’t stop her, then I have no idea how I will. But I’m still going to try. I have to believe that I can, no matter what happens.”

Ruby finally faced her. Her smile was sad. That wasn’t right. “If it happens-” she cut herself off with a chuckle, but it didn’t sound like when Ruby laughed at a joke. That was bright and free and made Penny want to laugh too. This was almost bitter. “I mean, who am I kidding, when it happens - I don’t want to be scared. That’s why I asked, I guess.” She shrugged, trying for a lighthearted air, but it didn’t quite work.

“Ruby,” Penny began, shocked, her sensors heating up again. But it didn’t feel nice this time. It felt stifling, and uncomfortable, and she didn’t like it, but it wasn’t going away. “-how can you say that?”

Ruby’s eyes widened slightly at Penny’s outburst. “What?”

“How are you alright with that? Even the _idea_ of you dying - it doesn’t bother you?” 

“It’s not that it doesn’t bother me - I don’t want to die. But if it came between Salem destroying the world and me dying, I don’t see another choice.” Ruby tried to explain.

Penny was rarely angry. She could get angry if she saw any Grimm terrorizing innocent civilians. She had been angry at Winter when the arrest warrants for their friends had gone out, and she’d chosen to obey without a question. She’d never expected to be angry at Ruby. “Why are you saying that as if the situation is inevitable?”

“I-”

“What about the people close to you? Your sister, your uncle, your friends,” Penny paused, “and me. Are we just meant to stand by and watch you do this to yourself?”

Ruby stared back at her. There was a whirlpool of different emotions in her eyes, but the look on her face was undecipherable. Her mouth thinned into a straight line. “I can’t be too late this time. Not again. My semblance is my speed, but,” Her eyes were hard and brittle. “I wasn’t fast enough to save Pyrrha. I wasn’t fast enough to save you, or-”

“Ruby, it-”

_“I know you’re going to say that I shouldn’t blame myself!”_ Ruby’s voice flared, frustration seeping in. “That it’s not my fault. And fine. Maybe it isn’t. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t do whatever it takes to stop it from happening again.”

Penny blinked, a pang of hurt settling itself in her chest. She gave a nod and shifted away. They both closed off then, the gap in conversation feeling less like a natural lull and more like a wound.

_Perhaps she could have handled that conversation better._

It was Ruby who reached out first, melting the dreadful silence.

“I’m sorry for getting angry.” Ruby whispered slowly. Penny turned to her; her silver eyes were shining and her eyebrows creased with regret. “I didn’t mean to, and you didn’t deserve to be blown up on.”

Penny cocked her head. “Both of us are still fully intact.”

Ruby’s face scrunched up cutely as she burst into giggles. She did her best to stifle her laughter in hopes of letting their friends sleep. She watched Penny with such a fond look on her face that Penny smiled too. There was a fluttery feeling in her abdomen. Her sensors even heated up, in the nice way.

“I didn’t mean literally,” Ruby said, still between chuckles. Once they died out, she softened. “But I am sorry for yelling. You were just caring, and I got mad.”

Penny nodded in understanding. “There is no need to fret!” She clasped her hands together. “I would also like to extend my apologies. For getting angry at you.”

Ruby held out her arms, a grin making its way across her face. “Hug and make-up?”

Penny beamed and practically crashed into her friend’s arms. Ruby groaned for a split-second before relaxing into the embrace, wrapping her arms around Penny in turn. Penny wanted to remain there; Ruby was soft and warm and she liked it very much.

“You’re a very important person to me, Ruby,” She murmured into Ruby’s shoulder. She could feel the other girl’s heartbeat start to pulse just a little faster. She wondered why that was. “You were my first friend, and one of the first few people to care - truly, care for me. In return, I would like to care for you. So please, do not put yourself so much at risk.”

Ruby didn’t respond, and Penny hoped that that was a good thing. But when they separated, she wasn’t quite sure; Ruby’s face looked contemplative once again. From her peripheral vision, she could see the sun beginning to rise. She switched her focus to the sky, watching the warm colors bloom and dance across its surface.

“Hey,” she heard Ruby say. She looked up and saw Ruby already standing, holding out a hand for her. She gladly took it. As she stood up, neither girl let go.

Silver eyes met green, and Penny felt concern creep back into her heart. “It’s okay, Penny. I’m okay. Really.” Ruby’s smile was resigned, almost relaxed if not for the tension behind it. She shook her head. “You don’t need to worry about me. This is just something I have to do. I’ll be fine.” Ruby gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Penny wanted to feel reassured, but their previous conversation provided quite a bit of evidence to suggest that she should feel the opposite.

Ruby let go.

“Now come on,” Ruby turned away. “Let’s go wake the others up.”

“Affirmative,” Penny heard herself say. She watched Ruby enter the airship, watched as Ruby’s hands fidgeted, and how she almost tripped on the steps. Ruby was distracted. And scared, if she had to venture a guess.

Penny couldn’t help but wonder how much her friend had changed in their time apart.

**Author's Note:**

> So if you read all of that, thanks! I hope you enjoyed it! Many, many thanks to my beta reader for being an angel and helping me proofread this
> 
> If you want you can follow me on twitter @lastroseofrwby, I scream a lot about Ruby and RWBY in general


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